This invention relates generally to washing machines and, more particularly, to a drive assembly for washing machines.
Washing machines typically include a cabinet that houses a stationary tub for containing wash and rinse water. A wash basket is rotatably mounted within the stationary tub, and an agitating element is positioned within the wash basket. A drive assembly located below the stationary tub is configured to rotate and control movement of the agitating element and/or the wash basket to clean the articles loaded into the wash basket. At an end of a wash cycle, a pump assembly is used to drain the soiled water to a drainage system.
Conventional drive assemblies generally include a motor, an input shaft coupled to the motor and an output shaft operatively coupled to the input shaft. In at least one conventional drive assembly, the input shaft is coupled at a first end to a pulley that is operatively coupled to the motor by a belt. The input shaft is operatively coupled at a second end opposing the first end to the output shaft. The output shaft is operatively coupled to the agitating element to produce an agitating movement and/or a continuous direct spin. The drive assembly also includes a gear assembly that drives the input shaft and output shaft to rotate about a vertical axis. However, in conventional drive assemblies relative movement of the input shaft with respect to the output shaft is restricted for facilitating a stable operation and performance of the drive assembly. The useful life of the gear assembly is greatly reduced due to undesirable contact between the components of the drive assembly and/or the misalignment of the input shaft and the output shaft. Further, such misalignment may produce undesirable noise during operation of the washing machine.